Issue: After installing the nvidia driver set I started x and kde ran like a dream it booted almost completly before the beginning music finished, programs flew open tuxracer worked without a hitch. I went to a couple of the mandrake config screens I don't remember which ones unfortunately and I rebooted.
Before when I started x the Nvidia graphics logo didn't show up. This time it did, but with it came a very sluggish x windows. When kde first loads it blinks on the loading windows manager part 40 + times then comes to a background screen and takes approx. two to four minutes to finish booting. If I get a program to load at all then they run relatively smooth but still not as fast as before.

Install process: hit f1 at mandrake install cd prompt typed patch enter. Proceeded to do a install of my system again. Booted to kde and changed my graphics card to a geforce3 just so I could get the 4.10 xfree86 version and XF86Config-4 file to be used. Downloaded the kernel source rpm and the glx source rpm to a directory labeled NV. Then exited kde su to root cd to NV ran rpm --rebuild NV* let it find the path to my kernel ??? then cd to the path i think cd /usr/src/RPM/RPMS/i686 ran rpm -ivh NV*
Everything completed okay but I got that messaged outlined in the faq about the libcore files e.t.c that are older mesa versions to be renamed so they could be repaced by the nvidia version of them. Finally I configured my XF86Config-4 file to say nvidia as the driver load glx in the module section.

My system: Custom built/K7S5A 735 chipset/AthlonXP1700/512 pc133/Gforce4 MX420/
My bios is set to non plug and play os/allocate pci to vga bus or something like that---not at home-----/agp graphic win size is 64 no option for other agp timing settings e.t.c
Mandrake 8.1

In the meantime: My system is now not at the state that I described I'm afraid things are getting worse but I feel I can find a solution somehow. I am learning how to use a console tools a little more as a consiquence. Unless I get a reply to this post telling me otherwise my next step is to try to enable agp fast writes. my proc sys file says my card/chipset supports it but is disabled. Also my agp status shows disabled. I'm going to try to download the tarballs for the nvidia kernel unpack them edit the os.registry-c file to enable those fast writes and agp then recompile the nvidia kernel(with luck). I know theres the "NvAGP "" you can place in the XF86Config-4 file and I tried that but it didn't seem to make an impact. I'm also going to go through my libcore e.t.c extensions and make sure there are none relating mesa in the same directory I saw the instructions on one of the posts other.

Conclusion: My brain is fried as why it would work perfectly and one reboot later perform like a computer with half it's power. My only guess is that maybe I was only using 2d support with the nvidia drivers before I restarted x but after that 3d support kicked in and drastically slowed down my box. Would the drivers cause such a great decrease in total system performance? Any help would really be appreciated.

I had a similar problem with my brandnew Geforce4 Ti4400 128MB. What happens is that sometimes the card will perform extremely poor, right from booting up! Today I experimented with Twinview and video-out a bit, without much success I might add. However, when I restored everything back I found that performance of my system was very bad e.g. even text mode was sluggish i.e. GRUB boot menu was veeery slow. I "fixed" this by connecting my main monitor to the second monitor out (DVI port with DVI->VGA converter cable). When booting the system up with the monitor connected to the second head everything was back to normal! I reconnect the monitor to the VGA port and it worked full speed.

The solution might sound very strange, but that is how I fixed it. So I think it might have something to do with the card misdetecting the connected output device and using some sort of reduced speed mode or something. Perhaps some NVIDIA gurus can shed some more light on this matter?

Update =+=+=+ Ok, thanks for the replies and help. I wimped out after all and took the w$ndoze route I guess I don't reflect the name of my nick after as much as I'd like oh well...aside from that I'm up and running now.

Install+=+=++=+ Clean install pressed F1 and typed patch. Did recommended installation with the usr partition included. When I had the chance to install packages I did every single development pack and all the document packs. I asked X not to start on boot up. I finished the install and rebooted. Came back up and went the nvidia download section and got all three types of ways to install just in case something went wrong. I did not this time switch my version of xfree86 so I was running 3.36 with 4.10 as the other option.
Logged out and made sure I was not in X by typing init 3 (thanks dbhost) and then ran the rpm src method. Crossing my fingers and squinting my eyes it finished with only a message saying a lib.* was going to be renamed because of possible conflicts.

Confusing part
This is where I lucked out. I mistakenly configured the XF86Config-4 file even though my system was using the XF86Config one. So my system booted fast and loaded programs well but without accelerated support i.e no opengl.
Thinking, well I can just add the entries for glx, extmod, and nvidia in the XF86Config file and everything should work alright right, wrong the XF86Config file for the 3.36 versin of X didn't pick up the options. After a rebooted I realized this. So I got the bright idea that it was time to go to the mandrake control panel and swith my xfree86 files to the 4.10 version because the nvidia drivers require it. Went in changed to GeForce3 this time and it asked which server I wanted, chose 4.10. I went back to my XF86Config file and changed everything back the way it was. Rebooted the computer booted fast again but I did'nt get a nvidia eye which is odd because I haven't placed the switch in the config file yet I have opengl support.

mttr thanks for you suggestion but it was over my head. My modules.conf file looked exactly like yours. I wish I was one of those guys that can look at the modules and config files and all the rest of the names for them and pick out whats wrong....maybe one day.

That tv-out suggestion was good to, sometimes the weirdest fixes are the only ones that works...

Thunderbird I was using Gnome 1.2.2

I wish I could say confidently that this would work with everyone with a athlon xp 1700 gforce4 mx 420 and mandrake 8.1 but if I did then you might as well call me Bill Clinton......At least when you do get a box configured exactly how you want it or pretty close at least it actually becomes yours and not just another w$ndoze clone. On to the next project... the saga continues....